Unusual Street Lighting on Motorways Past and Present

Discussion about street lighting, road signs, traffic signals - and all other street furniture - goes here.

Moderator: Site Management Team

M19
Member
Posts: 2249
Joined: Mon Dec 24, 2001 05:00
Location: Rothwell, Northants

Unusual Street Lighting on Motorways Past and Present

Post by M19 »

There are parts of the motorway network that had [and still have in some places] unusual types of streetlights, in terms of brackets and/or lanterns.

I remember the columns on the M1 between junction 2 and Scratchwood (London Gateway) Services looking like they were massive scaled up version of greyhound stadium lights with GEC turtles. They've since been replaced by conventional lights at the end of the 1990s. They were nowhere else on the network.

Also near London I remember being on the M4 between Slough and Heathrow Airport in the late 70s and seeing unusual lights in the central reservation with double brackets that curved near the join. I think they also had quite flat heads. These were replaced for some reason between then and now but a good few years ago. They were also used on the Heathrow Spur.

For some reason streetlights on main roads near airports also used brick lanterns, but they tended to be rare elsewhere.

Park Lane also used to have strange heads not seen elsewhere which have now gone - obviously not a motorway but still unusual as I never saw them elsewhere.
M19
User avatar
Chris5156
Deputy Treasurer
Posts: 16908
Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2001 21:50
Location: Hampshire
Contact:

Re: Unusual Street Lighting on Motorways Past and Present

Post by Chris5156 »

The M1 lights around Scratchwood were among my favourites as a child. They were huge - far longer than necessary, I'd have thought!
M19 wrote:Park Lane also used to have strange heads not seen elsewhere which have now gone - obviously not a motorway but still unusual as I never saw them elsewhere.
They were elliptical in shape and had two bulbs in each one. I think they only vanished in the last three or four years. I remember them being very striking.
User avatar
Bryn666
Elected Committee Member
Posts: 35754
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2002 20:54
Contact:

Re: Unusual Street Lighting on Motorways Past and Present

Post by Bryn666 »

Park Lane used Atlas Alpha 8 lanterns.

The M1 lights were very 70s weren't they?
Bryn
Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already.
She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.

Blog - https://showmeasign.online/
X - https://twitter.com/ShowMeASignBryn
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@BrynBuck
User avatar
Sabrista
Secretary
Posts: 3119
Joined: Sat Nov 30, 2002 16:16
Location: Long Eaton, Derbyshire

Re: Unusual Street Lighting on Motorways Past and Present

Post by Sabrista »

I used to love those old M1 lights. Once they finished and the tall tree lights of Scratchwood were passed, I always knew we were on our way (in those days to Nottingham). After that back then there were hardly any lights on the M1.

Serena
"The motorways are full of teachers' pets in their company cars listening to Simply Red..." - Dean Johnson

Big Trip In A Big (Now Little) Car! (new)
Serena's Mr Floppy Collection
My other pet project!
Trebeck
Member
Posts: 2768
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2006 23:09

Re: Unusual Street Lighting on Motorways Past and Present

Post by Trebeck »

M2 into Belfast always had huge lights to cover all 10 lanes.

Not a motorway, but as a kid I liked the Westlink lights under the canyon underpasses, always thought they looked very Los Angeles - like I'd see on the TV.
User avatar
sotonsteve
Member
Posts: 6079
Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2005 21:01

Re: Unusual Street Lighting on Motorways Past and Present

Post by sotonsteve »

There used to be a couple of pictures in the SABRE photo galleries showing the old M1 lighting near Scratchwood. I saved copies of the pictures to my computer, and am looking at it now. There were two column styles, one with a welded flanged bracket and another with an L-bracket. The welded flange bracket style is the style used on the abandoned slip road, except those on the main carriageway were taller and with larger brackets. However, it seems the L-bracket style columns were the norm. The columns were probably 40ft, and the outreach brackets appeared to entirely span the hard shoulder, suggesting that they were a good 4 metres in length. The lanterns were GEC Z8420s, which are the flat-glass early style overshoe turtles. This installation was probably the most striking motorway lighting installation in the UK, due to the sheer size of the brackets.

The lighting on the M4 had a bit of a Dutch appearance to it. Tubular steel columns that stepped up, with double brackets that curved apart from each other in a small to moderate radius. The lanterns used were Atlas Alpha 6s. On some slip roads shorter columns with different style brackets were used, along with Atlas Alpha 10 lanterns.

Some unusual lighting down my way was catenary lighting. There was catenary lighting elsewhere on the English motorway network, but M27 J7-8 pushed the limits of catenary lighting and was experimental. Other catenary lighting had 5 lanterns per span, whilst that on the M27 had 8 lanterns per span. The columns were 15m tall and made by Petitjean, and the columns were spaced a whopping 90 metres apart. The lanterns were GEC ZD4565 'Bricks'. The experiment wasn't successful, and the lighting was replaced after 16 years' service with the current ZX4s.
etraxeon
New Member
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Aug 03, 2014 15:57

Re: Unusual Street Lighting on Motorways Past and Present

Post by etraxeon »

I saw some Old Concrete columns with LEDs on them in Lecister I actually think its because they either have a lack of columns or it just is just cheaper
User avatar
Nicholas
Member
Posts: 4695
Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2006 18:37
Location: Bournemouth
Contact:

Re: Unusual Street Lighting on Motorways Past and Present

Post by Nicholas »

If the columns are still in decent condition, you'll find some councils won't bother replacing them even if they are concrete. Salford is doing this at the moment as they upgrade lighting to LED, with arms being removed and the columns having metal sleeves affixed at the top - especially as these lights are post-top (which Salford loves). After all, this is a more cost effective method, which gives them more money to spend on LEDs!
Voie Rapide / Mótarbhealaí
Updated 1 November 2019!
etraxeon
New Member
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Aug 03, 2014 15:57

Re: Unusual Street Lighting on Motorways Past and Present

Post by etraxeon »

Ones I saw were not sleeved
User avatar
haymansafc
Member
Posts: 4808
Joined: Sun Mar 19, 2006 16:52
Location: Ellesmere Port, Cheshire

Re: Unusual Street Lighting on Motorways Past and Present

Post by haymansafc »

I prefer to see existing columns re-used rather than replaced just for 'replacement sake'. If there's nothing fundamentally wrong with the column, be it metal or concrete, I'd personally leave it in place and simply replace the lantern if necessary. It's a considerably cheaper option. In an age where we're all encouraged to recycle, it does surprise me at how councils don't apply this to perfectly serviceable street lighting columns (or even lanterns…).

The country on the whole has seen many perfectly decent and serviceable installations removed over the last decade or so and it does upset me at how we've lost some rare and interesting lanterns/columns simply because they're 'old' rather than actually needing replacement.

With regards to motorways with unusual installations, which may just about count, the northern terminus of the M53 (Bidston Viaduct) used to be lit with Thorn Alpha 4 lanterns. I don't think I've come across another installation with these lanterns on the network that I can recall…
The journey is never over until the arrival.
User avatar
RichardA626
Member
Posts: 7809
Joined: Sat Jul 07, 2012 22:19
Location: Stockport
Contact:

Re: Unusual Street Lighting on Motorways Past and Present

Post by RichardA626 »

I remember first seeing catenary lighting on the way back from a day in Blackpool, so they would have been on the M55 or M6.
Beware of the trickster on the roof
User avatar
trencheel303
Account deactivated at user request
Posts: 257
Joined: Wed Jun 11, 2014 20:24
Location: England

Re: Unusual Street Lighting on Motorways Past and Present

Post by trencheel303 »

Do the concrete columns with ZX3s on the A666 count? None that I saw were even sleeved, if that adds "unusual" points!
User avatar
Gareth
Member
Posts: 1729
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2005 19:16
Location: Liverpool
Contact:

Re: Unusual Street Lighting on Motorways Past and Present

Post by Gareth »

What about the high mast lighting going into Liverpool on the M62? Anyone know where else these can be found? There were some at Birch Services as shown in the photo below but Streetview suggests that they've been replaced, or at least, the lanterns have...

Image
User avatar
wrinkly
Member
Posts: 8986
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 12:17
Location: Leeds

Re: Unusual Street Lighting on Motorways Past and Present

Post by wrinkly »

RichardA626 wrote:I remember first seeing catenary lighting on the way back from a day in Blackpool, so they would have been on the M55 or M6.
I thought the only catenary lighting that ever existed in the NW was on the then M62 (now M60 J12-16) and adjacent M61/A666 link.
User avatar
Bryn666
Elected Committee Member
Posts: 35754
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2002 20:54
Contact:

Re: Unusual Street Lighting on Motorways Past and Present

Post by Bryn666 »

It was, the only lighting in the 70s around Preston were the stepped columns that are still present on the M55.
Bryn
Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already.
She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.

Blog - https://showmeasign.online/
X - https://twitter.com/ShowMeASignBryn
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@BrynBuck
User avatar
Bryn666
Elected Committee Member
Posts: 35754
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2002 20:54
Contact:

Re: Unusual Street Lighting on Motorways Past and Present

Post by Bryn666 »

haymansafc wrote:I prefer to see existing columns re-used rather than replaced just for 'replacement sake'. If there's nothing fundamentally wrong with the column, be it metal or concrete, I'd personally leave it in place and simply replace the lantern if necessary. It's a considerably cheaper option. In an age where we're all encouraged to recycle, it does surprise me at how councils don't apply this to perfectly serviceable street lighting columns (or even lanterns…).

The country on the whole has seen many perfectly decent and serviceable installations removed over the last decade or so and it does upset me at how we've lost some rare and interesting lanterns/columns simply because they're 'old' rather than actually needing replacement.
This has been done in Aviemore, knackered Thorn Alpha 8s have been removed from Stewart and Lloyd columns and the result is very pleasing. I'll put a photo on the Wiki.
Bryn
Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already.
She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.

Blog - https://showmeasign.online/
X - https://twitter.com/ShowMeASignBryn
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@BrynBuck
User avatar
RichardA626
Member
Posts: 7809
Joined: Sat Jul 07, 2012 22:19
Location: Stockport
Contact:

Re: Unusual Street Lighting on Motorways Past and Present

Post by RichardA626 »

wrinkly wrote:
RichardA626 wrote:I remember first seeing catenary lighting on the way back from a day in Blackpool, so they would have been on the M55 or M6.
I thought the only catenary lighting that ever existed in the NW was on the then M62 (now M60 J12-16) and adjacent M61/A666 link.
It might have been the M61 then.
Beware of the trickster on the roof
User avatar
ben123newton
New Member
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2006 20:08
Location: London

Re: Unusual Street Lighting on Motorways Past and Present

Post by ben123newton »

M19 wrote: Park Lane also used to have strange heads not seen elsewhere which have now gone - obviously not a motorway but still unusual as I never saw them elsewhere.
I think there is still one remaining on the approach to Hyde Park Corner from Constitution Hill.

http://goo.gl/xpA61m
User avatar
Patrick Harper
Member
Posts: 3202
Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2010 14:41
Location: Wiltshire

Re: Unusual Street Lighting on Motorways Past and Present

Post by Patrick Harper »

haymansafc wrote:I prefer to see existing columns re-used rather than replaced just for 'replacement sake'. If there's nothing fundamentally wrong with the column, be it metal or concrete, I'd personally leave it in place and simply replace the lantern if necessary. It's a considerably cheaper option. In an age where we're all encouraged to recycle, it does surprise me at how councils don't apply this to perfectly serviceable street lighting columns (or even lanterns…).

The country on the whole has seen many perfectly decent and serviceable installations removed over the last decade or so and it does upset me at how we've lost some rare and interesting lanterns/columns simply because they're 'old' rather than actually needing replacement.
The trouble is once columns hit 40 and 50 years old they become much more difficult and expensive to service. For instance, replacement parts for certain circuitry may be unobtainable. The trend these days seems to be sleeving ancient steel columns for head replacement, but those columns may have been clearly EOL and/or rusting, so servicing seems kinda pointless if the columns need replacing anyway.
User avatar
sotonsteve
Member
Posts: 6079
Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2005 21:01

Re: Unusual Street Lighting on Motorways Past and Present

Post by sotonsteve »

With current street lighting there is nothing currently installed that cannot be kept maintained in terms of lamps and the control gear that operate the lamps. However, from next year mercury lamps and control gear will no longer be available.
Post Reply